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Doll's House, Lady from the Sea (Everyman's Library (Paper))

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The Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen subjects his writing to the intricacies of marriage time and time again. He seems to have an omniscient power and ability to observe the sacrament itself, along with the fictional characters whom he creates to engage in these marital affairs. Such is the case with his classic drama, A Doll's House.

The play raises questions about female self-sacrifice in a male-dominated world. Nora is a "wife and child" to Torvald Helmer, and nothing more. She is his doll, a plaything on display to the world, of little intellectual value and even less utility in his life. Thus it is logical for Helmer to act so shockingly upon his discovery that Nora has managed financial affairs (typically a family responsibility reserved for the patriarch) without so much as his consent or knowledge. What, then, is the play saying about women by allowing Nora to act alone and independently, all the while allowing her to achieve little success in doing so?

Such an apparent doubt by the playwright of the abilities of women is quickly redeemed by Nora's sudden mental fruition, as though she, in the course of a day or so, accomplishes the amount of growing up to which most persons devote years and years. She has developed the intuition and motivation to leave behind everything she has lived for during she and Helmer's eight years of marriage in exchange for an independent life and the much-sought virtue of independent thought. Nora suddenly wishes to be alone in the world, responsible for only her own well-being and success or failure. She is breaking free of her crutches (Helmer, her deceased father, the ill-obtained finances from Krogstad) and is now appetent to walk tall and proud.

Through the marital madness of Helmer and Nora, Ibsen is questioning the roles of both husband and wife, and what happens when one person dominates such a relationship in a manner that is demeaning to the other, regardless of whether such degradation is carried out in a conscious, intended frame of mind. Ibsen is truly a master playwright, and his play A Doll's House is truly a masterpiece.

What I found most remarkable about this play is how much it resonates some 130 years after it was originally written. Nora today would not, of course, face the lies and deceit necessary to pay for her husband's health-giving trip. Still, though, how many wives today feel trapped by their roles as wives and mothers, with no real outlet to discover their true selves, their true strengths? Women may have more freedoms, but how many times, when a mother leaves her husband and children, do we assume something is wrong with her, that she is just being selfish, and not look at what her husband, and society, has done to make her feel she must take this desperate step. I wish I had read this play before I was married. My life choices may have been drastically different. (Then again, maybe not!)

Ibsen himself said that this play was about human rights, not womens rights, and i think that this is true. Nora was constantly belittled by Helmer and had never been given the chance to grow up. She had been treated like a doll in a dolls house, first by her father and then by her husband, who she had been passed on to. Although it seems trivial, even the mere fact that she was forbidden to eat macaroons is significant. People may well say that a womans first responsability is to her family, and children especially, i think that it is ultimately to herself. Nora closing the door at the end of the play is very significant - she is closing the door on that part of her life. Torvald realised what he had done in the end, but by that time it was far too late for anything to be changed. Although i studied this play in school, i really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who will listen. Nora managed to break out of the life she had been confined to, that many of the women of her time were confined to. (i studied this play for a-level and wrote, like 100 essays on it, can you tell?)

The Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen wrote an insightful play about marriage and the role of women in Ibsens time (19th century Europe). I am sure that "A dolls house" must have been a shock to the European society when Ibsen first published this book. He criticised the system that demoted women to mere property and this must have been an outrageous statement in a society where women didn't even have the right to vote!

The author himself said that this play was about human rights, not women's rights. While I believe this to be true, I still have no problems understanding why the female rights groups says that "A dolls house" is about women's rights. Whilst this play was written over a hundred years ago, many of the issues about women discussed in "A dolls house" are still applicable today. I think Nora is a *great* role model for a woman of the new millennium!

If you, like me, had to read this as a part of your college literature requirements, give it another try!

It is a wonderful book.

I thought it was really good. I enjoyed reading about how Noraand Torvald react to each other, as well as how they interact with the other characters. However, most people who read this book consider Torvald to be the sole problem in the plot. However, I believe that Nora was just as responsible for the problems they espierenced in their realtionship as Toravld was. I agree that the character Torvald Helmer was an unfair husband. He treated Nora with disrespect, superiority, and constantly belittled her. However, Nora herself was not an innocent victim. I am not blaming her for her act of forging the bank note in order to save Torvald's life. If I was in a similar situation, I would have done the same myself. However, Nora consistently lies, which gives Torvald all justification for being as suspicious as he is. Also, she is extremely conceited. Not necessarily in the manner she treats others, but in how she brags about her own good fortunes to others; especially when the "other" is the character, Mrs. Linde, who is dealing with a time of hardship and poverty. This display between Nora and Mrs. Linde shows that though Nora may feel compassion towards her old friend, and others for that matter, their feelings are not nearly as important as her own. Also, the childish behavior Nora displays around Torvald gives him even more reason to treat her as he does. Keep in mind I am by no means justifying Torvald's actions, however, I am merely expressing that I understand where he was coming from. Basically, the situation described by Ibsen is not just Torvald's fault for being an overbearing husband. A good deal of the blame also falls on Nora, who in many ways causes Torvald to treat her as he does.

When Ibsen's "A Doll's House" came out, it would be a start of a new revolution in the theatre. Science and Society was changing so the theatre had to change too. Instead of seeing Kings and Historical figures on the stage, we would see the common person and their role in society and their environment. Everything(Dialouge, props, acting etc.) would be all Real and be as if the audience were looking through a keyhole in these peoples lives and the people unaware of the audience. Audiences now would see a "slice of life." Ibsen's "A Doll's House" along with Strindberg's "Miss Julie" would establish the Realism movement and inspire the future of playwrights such as Chekhov, Shaw, Wilde, O'Neill etc...

"A Doll's House" is a play about the role of women in Ibsen's time. Nora who struggles to bring happiness to her family. When her husband Torvald is sick, Nora borrows money from a co-worker(Krogstad) at her husband's bank to pay for a trip to heal her husband. The play takes place after this trip and we see that Torvald is restored to full health. Torvald treats Nora just like a doll and nothing more. We find out that Nora secretly is saving up to pay back the money she borrowed by buying cheaper clothes or not eating. An old friend named Mrs.Linde comes to Helmer's house in search for a job and Nora persuades her husband to let Mrs.Linde have a job at his bank. Meanwhile Krogstad comes to visit and hears this. He is very afraid that his position is at risk and thinks Torvald will fire him. He tells Nora that if she doesn't convince her husband to keep his job, he'll tell her husband of her borrowing money. This sets up the conflict and the way Nora deals with it, is not the traditional way a character like hers might in previous plays. If you have not read the play and don't want the ending spoiled don't read on.

After Torvald finds out, instead of Torvald being thankful for his wife for trying to save her husband for a dreadful illness, he is furious and says he will be humiliated and torn by Society when they find out what his wife did. We the audience/reader think that it is all over for Nora, that Torvald will leave her and she will be a cast out. Instead in Act 3, in a moment of epiphany Nora's whole life goes past her. She realizes that her whole life she has just been a doll in a doll house passed down from her father to Torvald. She tells Torvald how hard she has tried to be a good wife and build a family but it won't work. She decides to leave Torvald. This action went against all the traditional values at the time and sparked a revolution. Ibsen showed the world a reality, society didn't want to see. Nora leaving Torvald was unheard of at the time and that is why "A Doll's House" is so important.

Ibsen's "A Doll's House" aside from starting Realism, is just a well written piece. Anyone who loves literature or theater must read it. Ibsen from "A Doll's House" would question the role of people in Society and question authority like no other playwright before him had.

Major playwright, Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, was born in 1828 and wrote Doll House in 1879. It was performed in London 1889 and Paris 1894, Ibsen died in 1906.

The twisting and advancing plot revolves around several themes, illusion in marriage, conflict with society, feminism, wealth, betrayal, family, and intrigue.

The dramatic play is rich in symbolism, but the most profound is the title, A Doll House, which exemplifies the nature of the relationship that Nora and her husband Torvald have long since demonstrated; she is his little doll.

Torvald portrays the "man" in control of finances and the home; he conducts his life the way society dictates. Nora is the sweet submissive wife who plays along with her husband dominant role, just as was the relationship with her father. Torvald 's endearments of Nora are belittling, "little squirrel", little spendthrift, little lark."

But their illusional marriage takes a turn, Through a past incident for the love of her husband, Nora's secret is about to be divulged. Through that experience she no longer functions in submissive role and makes a grand stand. During this, Torvald is driven to a wimpering soul.

The story is in three acts and each act reveals different character attitudes and Nora's fight and progression. The interesting story culminates with a dramatic twist.....MzRizz

There is no doubt that Henrik Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' is his masterpiece; one of the most famous plays ever. Notwithstanding it is very dated, and today's readers/audience may find it boring and hard to understand, because there is a very long interval since its first performance to the XXI century.

Although women, unfortunately, still have much to fight for when it comes to rights, they are no longer like Nora, the play's protagonist. She is a complete doll, living to his husband's, Torvald, will. Due to his health problems, she has involved with not reliable people, and borrowed money. Years later, when he is safe and sound, she is still paying her debts --however, he doesn't know it. In order to keep her lie, Nora is involved by a snowball effect, where one lie leads to another one, until the moment when it becomes unbearable.

While I much like the feminist thematic of the play, analyzing it as a literature work I think there are some flaws in the text. The most important character, Nora, is not very well developed. We can easily notice how repressed she is; and we do expect her to take charge in her life and do something, but when it happens, in the very end of the play, it seems to be so unrealistic that it is hard to believe she is a human being rather than a character of a play.

Another thing about Nora is that she is extremely selfish. If on the one hand, she does things to help her husband recover, on the other, she's doing it because she's afraid of losing him, and being left helpless alone. Moreover, in the end, she simply quits her life --good for her!--, but she doesn't care about her children. How convenient it is to leave their three small kids, claiming she is not a good person and will harm them. She becomes a free person, and under no shadow of doubt, her children will grow up problematic people.

Above all things, 'A Doll's House' is a play, and it doesn't deny its origins. The dialogues are very theatrical. The monologues pop up in almost every page, compromising the natural flow of the events.

All in all, it is still a good play, and has its cultural and social importance. It portraits the hypocrisy of XIX Century European society, when women had no power at all, and were brought up to satisfy their huband's will. It has lost its freshness and power, but still stands up as one of the first work with a feminist thematic, and for that matter should be read and known.

To put it simply, a solid play. A Doll's House was overall a relatively enjoyable read. Despite its minimal length, the play certainly makes bold statements on the society that we live in. The play follows Nora Helmer, as she is torn apart by the threat of her greatest secret being revealed to her husband. However, through her anxiety of this impending revelation, we see one of the most radical changes in character in all of literature. As the play progresses, Nora transforms, from a childlike, immature woman bounded by society's chains, to an independent, liberated woman free to pursue her own self development and fulfillment. And, looking past the simple plot of the play, many of us can see ourselves in her character. How often do we find ourselves holding back from our greatest potential, to accommodate to what society expects of us? And, is it right to chase this hedonistic life? Is one's duty to one's self above all, or are there greater priorities?
Another societal theme is presented through the play: keeping up appearances. Regardless of what is felt on the inside, doing what is expected on the outside. This can be related to by most people. And it is through this that the Doll's House has enormous appeal. I found myself placing myself in Nora's shoes, and wondering what decisions I would make if I were forced to. This is actually something of an enjoyable experience--through reading this play we can learn not only about society, but about ourselves. And this is why I would recommend the play to a friend.

At first Nora was afraid, she was petrified,

kept thinking she could never live without Torvald by her side

and then he finds out about the money she borrowed to save his life

and he says she is a liar and the cause of all his strife!

He says she's low, and a disgrace,

that he no longer loves her, but outside he'll show a happy face,

and when the lender then decides that blackmail he will not pursue,

that Tovald turns to little Nora and says, "My Darling, I love you!"

But she says, "No!"

"Now I will go!" She turns around then and walks out and slams the door...

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